Look at that 3D!

BJG has begun the design of two flumes for the Truckee Meadows Water Authority. These flumes are being constructed to replace existing flumes that do not have enough capacity and are not adequate for Reno’s seismic loads. We plan on supporting the wooden box flumes with steel bents at 24′-0″ on center. Water is heavy and the seismic loads are directly proportional to the weight of the structure plus the weight of the water so lateral loads are high. We have a 3D model of the preliminary first flume design built in Revit Structure, see below for the isometric view. We have another model of each steel bent built in Staad, a structural analysis program, with this model we can easily place lateral and vertical loads on the bents and see the resulting stresses in the steel members due to various code prescribed load combinations. Additionally, with Staad we can model the soil structure interaction and get a feeling for the actual movement that will occur when the soil beneath the footings deflects during a seismic event.

This is a great project to work on. We have worked with the Truckee Meadows Water Authority in the past and it has always been a pleasure. The flume is surrounded by a beautiful section of the Truckee River and if everything goes as planned a few of the observational site visits will coincide with a few casts of the fly rod.

Maps!

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